In conventional locomotive imaging systems, a camera collects video information of the locomotive or surrounding railroad system, which is then typically stored in a memory of a processor. Generally, the camera is at a fixed position and fixed angle, but may be manually adjustable. Thus, an operator may manually adjust the single camera to collect video from an upcoming object, such as a railroad signal, for example. The processor, which is coupled to the camera, may attempt to determine the color of the railroad signal, for purposes of controlling the operation of the locomotive, such as determining whether to continue along a portion of the railroad track, for example.
Since these conventional locomotive imaging systems include a single camera which is at a fixed position and orientation (but may be manually adjusted), these systems have unique shortcomings. For example, the camera may not be oriented in the same direction as the information (e.g., wayside signal condition) viewed by an operator or a conductor. Additionally, if an obstacle obstructs the single camera from collecting video data from the object, no video data can be collected. Still further, the single camera is only capable of collecting video data from one particular frame of reference, which may not convey the desired video data. Also, any video data collected by the single camera or data derived therefrom cannot be compared with any reference data to verify its accuracy. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a locomotive imaging system that avoids these notable shortcomings of conventional locomotive imaging systems.